I live in a small town in Kentucky, and the only time you see more than a few young people in Goth clothing is during our annual festival, in the heat of August. Now I've found a niche blog that addresses a question I've pondered: how hot can they be in all that black Victorian attire?

Goths, I love 'em! I even used to be one for a bit (well, I was a Didi-Goth for at least 6 months). But there's one thing that troubles me about our cheery friends: what to do they do in summer? All that makeup, long black leather and rubber must get very sticky. I think we should show our respect for these poor unfortunates, struggling to stand out from the vanilla crowd despite blazing temperatures and sunshine that puts the rest of us in shorts and vest tops.

Goths in Hot Weather posts pictures of people in Goth fashion and rates them on how Goth and how sweaty they appear. Link -via b3ta

I am a goth and there are still a few of us left , kind of funny how the dead style is dying:P but i have a sense of humour and btw yes it is extremely hot sometimes in a trench coat , i just wear loose shirts and things , the knee high boots and hats and things dont matter so much , also i love the silent alliance between goths and punks , is great ^.^

Well Jae, all the better for you. It is an obsevation of mine that in certain urban environments, you can be more succesful at showing your abilities and aspirations by outward appearance than nything else- The examples of that are countless, with extremes found in the Harajuku phenomenon in Japan, or the label madness found in some European circles (if yo don't wear the correct labels, you're a failure an you don't belong to the group.) I know from my younger relatives who are still in school, that they can have stiff problems with their peers if they don't wear the correct clothing -outward appearance-. I myself can forget about any bright carreer if I only would mark by abilities and aspirations- I also have to look the part to get the promotion. So it goes more than one way. And at that I think the business-suits in a way are not any better than these Goth's. :-)

I like being an individual as well as the next, but I feel your abilities and aspirations mark that better than pretending to be something you're not. Pretending to be dark and gloomy all the time for a reaction is a pathetic waste of energy. This group tends to exemplify "look at me" more than the most poseur punk.

The same reason people declare their religion as the right one. They feel that their preference is the correct one. Everyone knows the Flying Spaghetti Monster is the one true god. May you be touched by his noodle appendage. rAmen.